THE SUPERNATURAL HABITS, PAUL & NUALA O'HIGGINS [red novels .txt] 📗
- Author: PAUL & NUALA O'HIGGINS
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things.” (Phil. 4:8)
‘Two men looked out through prison bars, the one saw mud and the other stars’ (Dale Carnegie). In spite of all the suffering, evil and injustice that exist in this world we recognize that “the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.” (Ps. 33:5) The most supernaturally empowered believer, while conscious of the suffering and evil in the world, never loses sight of this great fact and constantly remains attuned to it. Thanksgiving is simply a part of the life of faith. By it we acknowledge God’s goodness as it comes to us in so many forms.
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” (Ps. 68:19) Faith acknowledges through thanksgiving that we are loaded with God’s benefits and it opens us for more of His benefits.
The Healing Power of Thanksgiving
There is tremendous healing power in thanksgiving. Those with a thankful heart live longer, get sick less and enjoy life more.
“A merry heart does well like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)
“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Proverbs 15:13)
The scriptures attribute amazing healing benefits to the attitude of thankfulness and cheerfulness. Cheerfulness is said to be equivalent to a good medicine.
Medical science substantiates this. People who have a cheerful disposition tend to live longer and enjoy long years. Modern physiology shows that cheerfulness causes the release of dopamine and a reduction in cortisol. Excess cortisol damages the arteries, supresses the immune system and inhibits sleep.
Proverbs tells us that, when our hearts are not cheerful and are broken, our bones are dried up. What is it to have dried up bones?
The ‘wet’ part of the bone is the bone marrow, which of course is one of the most important parts of the immune system. It is the marrow that produces the white blood cells, which fight off fungal infections, parasites and cancer cells. With a depressed bone marrow the body’s ability to fight off disease is greatly reduced.
Depression, sorrow and grief, according to the Bible, dry the bones i.e. inhibit the bone marrow, and so cause all sorts of diseases.
The merry heart, or the spirit of thanksgiving, is the antidote for this. Jesus came ‘to heal the broken hearted’ and ‘to give us the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.’ (Isaiah 61:3, Luke 4.18)
Since the Fall, a pall of sorrow, depression and heaviness has fallen over mankind. The earth is full of pain, suffering, sorrow and heartbreak. The great news is that Jesus took these sorrows, pains and grieves upon Himself. We can, therefore, release them to Him by faith and receive the healing oil of joy. He came to make that exchange. He was a man of sorrows because He took ours upon Himself. He became sorrowful for a moment on Calvary that we might become joyful with Him forever. He came as Isaiah saw “to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3) Through thankful remembrance we draw this joy and all the other benefits of our redemption to ourselves.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit generates it within us. When we are in union with Jesus, we are in union with the Spirit of joy. Through faith we receive the Holy Spirit and are filled with the Spirit. But we cannot maintain our filling without cultivating the habit of thanksgiving. Many who have been filled with the Holy Spirit lose the joy of their experience and the Spirit-filled life because they do not maintain the habit of joyful thanksgiving.
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Ephesians 5:17-20)
Thanksgiving is Pro-Active
Some believers believe and act as if the more solemn and joyless they are the more spiritual they are. They think that it is their duty, in light of the problems of the world, to be somber, dour and grave. This is not what God teaches. He calls us to a life of joy and celebration in the face of difficulties. As Nehemiah said in the face of tremendous problems “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh. 8:10) To cultivate this spirit is one of the great keys to remaining in union with God and to overcome the world.
To live in thanksgiving and joy is not to be like Pollyanna, unconcerned with the problems of the world, or irresponsible about our own. It is simply refusing to be dragged down by events around us that we face. Thanksgiving gives us the ability to continue to recognize that God’s resources are sufficient to meet every problem. Sometimes His resources give us the power to remove problems. Sometimes they give us the power to endure problems and sometimes they give us the power to overcome problems. Whichever way it is, His grace is sufficient for every situation we can ever find ourselves in. “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
The spirit of thanksgiving empowers us to use every difficulty as an opportunity to receive God’s help, which is always sufficient to make all situations work for our good and to turn even the most unpleasant situation into an opportunity and a stepping stone. This is no mere positive thinking. This is the positive reality of God’s loving presence available to those who lean on Him.
Even in times of trial and darkness we can thank Him because His grace is still available to get us through and to make the negative experience work for our good. We thank God in everything and for everything He does to redeem all situations.
When we love God and invite Him into our situations He takes every circumstance - the good and the bad, the just and the unjust, the things that should not have happened as well as the things that should have happened - and makes them all work together for our good. In this way we can live without regret about the past or the present, or without fear of the future, because as Paul says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Thanksgiving is not a denial of problems. On the contrary it gives us the power to do something about them, and to pro-act. As we do this we begin to embrace and experience God’s redemptive ability to bring good out of evil and to make all things work together for our good. By thanksgiving we overcome victoriously rather than descend into despair.
Corrie ten Boom, the famous Christian holocaust survivor, recalled how in their horrible camp the situation became even worse when an infestation of lice broke out. When Corrie began to murmur, her sister Betsy (who did not survive the camp) corrected Corrie and told her that she must thank God for the lice and not complain! They began to thank God for the lice that in some way God would use them for their good. Betsy and Corrie conducted Bible studies for their fellow prisoners and because of the lice the prison guards did not inspect their area. They were left to conduct their Bible studies with freedom – all because of the lice!
Thanksgiving keeps us filled with the Spirit
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Ephesians 5: 17-20)
As we cultivate this habit of rejoicing in the Lord and thanking God the Father through Jesus, we cause the life of the Spirit to bubble up within us.
Often believers, who are filled and baptized with the Holy Spirit, become flat in their faith and the vibrancy of their relationship with God begins to wane. The habit of thanksgiving is the antidote to this. Our emotions sometimes pick up the heaviness of the world around us and this can quench the life of the Spirit in us. As we remind ourselves of the Lord’s presence, faithfulness and goodness, we can stir ourselves up, overcome the spirit of the world around us and be restored to the joy of the Lord.
David says “restore to me the joy of my salvation and renew a right spirit in me.” (Psalm 51:10) Thanksgiving restores the Spirit’s life, presence and fruit to our lives and is the great key to the enjoyment of everything. “I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:17) It often takes an effort of will to begin to give thanks. This is one of the reasons it is called ‘the sacrifice of thanksgiving’ but as we offer this sacrifice our joy will be restored and our spirit re-ignited.
Thanksgiving Sanctifies Everything
“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5)
Thanksgiving sanctifies everything. It brightens everything up with God‘s presence. Complaining and murmuring on the other hand sucks the life and joy out of everything. The supernaturally empowered believer makes his life a complaint-free zone.
Everything that we can thank God for becomes holy and blessed and radiant with the life of His kingdom. People often think that if something is religious it must be holy; and for something to be holy it must be religious. The most down to earth activity is holy if it is done with an attitude of thanksgiving towards God, and the most exalted religious activity is unholy if done in the wrong attitude.
It is not the religiosity of an activity but the attitude of thanksgiving towards God that makes it holy. The ordinary activities of daily life do not have to pull us away from God’s kingdom but through thanksgiving they can become charged with the presence of God.
Chapter 2: THE HABIT OF PRAYER
‘Two men looked out through prison bars, the one saw mud and the other stars’ (Dale Carnegie). In spite of all the suffering, evil and injustice that exist in this world we recognize that “the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.” (Ps. 33:5) The most supernaturally empowered believer, while conscious of the suffering and evil in the world, never loses sight of this great fact and constantly remains attuned to it. Thanksgiving is simply a part of the life of faith. By it we acknowledge God’s goodness as it comes to us in so many forms.
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” (Ps. 68:19) Faith acknowledges through thanksgiving that we are loaded with God’s benefits and it opens us for more of His benefits.
The Healing Power of Thanksgiving
There is tremendous healing power in thanksgiving. Those with a thankful heart live longer, get sick less and enjoy life more.
“A merry heart does well like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)
“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Proverbs 15:13)
The scriptures attribute amazing healing benefits to the attitude of thankfulness and cheerfulness. Cheerfulness is said to be equivalent to a good medicine.
Medical science substantiates this. People who have a cheerful disposition tend to live longer and enjoy long years. Modern physiology shows that cheerfulness causes the release of dopamine and a reduction in cortisol. Excess cortisol damages the arteries, supresses the immune system and inhibits sleep.
Proverbs tells us that, when our hearts are not cheerful and are broken, our bones are dried up. What is it to have dried up bones?
The ‘wet’ part of the bone is the bone marrow, which of course is one of the most important parts of the immune system. It is the marrow that produces the white blood cells, which fight off fungal infections, parasites and cancer cells. With a depressed bone marrow the body’s ability to fight off disease is greatly reduced.
Depression, sorrow and grief, according to the Bible, dry the bones i.e. inhibit the bone marrow, and so cause all sorts of diseases.
The merry heart, or the spirit of thanksgiving, is the antidote for this. Jesus came ‘to heal the broken hearted’ and ‘to give us the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.’ (Isaiah 61:3, Luke 4.18)
Since the Fall, a pall of sorrow, depression and heaviness has fallen over mankind. The earth is full of pain, suffering, sorrow and heartbreak. The great news is that Jesus took these sorrows, pains and grieves upon Himself. We can, therefore, release them to Him by faith and receive the healing oil of joy. He came to make that exchange. He was a man of sorrows because He took ours upon Himself. He became sorrowful for a moment on Calvary that we might become joyful with Him forever. He came as Isaiah saw “to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3) Through thankful remembrance we draw this joy and all the other benefits of our redemption to ourselves.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit generates it within us. When we are in union with Jesus, we are in union with the Spirit of joy. Through faith we receive the Holy Spirit and are filled with the Spirit. But we cannot maintain our filling without cultivating the habit of thanksgiving. Many who have been filled with the Holy Spirit lose the joy of their experience and the Spirit-filled life because they do not maintain the habit of joyful thanksgiving.
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Ephesians 5:17-20)
Thanksgiving is Pro-Active
Some believers believe and act as if the more solemn and joyless they are the more spiritual they are. They think that it is their duty, in light of the problems of the world, to be somber, dour and grave. This is not what God teaches. He calls us to a life of joy and celebration in the face of difficulties. As Nehemiah said in the face of tremendous problems “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh. 8:10) To cultivate this spirit is one of the great keys to remaining in union with God and to overcome the world.
To live in thanksgiving and joy is not to be like Pollyanna, unconcerned with the problems of the world, or irresponsible about our own. It is simply refusing to be dragged down by events around us that we face. Thanksgiving gives us the ability to continue to recognize that God’s resources are sufficient to meet every problem. Sometimes His resources give us the power to remove problems. Sometimes they give us the power to endure problems and sometimes they give us the power to overcome problems. Whichever way it is, His grace is sufficient for every situation we can ever find ourselves in. “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
The spirit of thanksgiving empowers us to use every difficulty as an opportunity to receive God’s help, which is always sufficient to make all situations work for our good and to turn even the most unpleasant situation into an opportunity and a stepping stone. This is no mere positive thinking. This is the positive reality of God’s loving presence available to those who lean on Him.
Even in times of trial and darkness we can thank Him because His grace is still available to get us through and to make the negative experience work for our good. We thank God in everything and for everything He does to redeem all situations.
When we love God and invite Him into our situations He takes every circumstance - the good and the bad, the just and the unjust, the things that should not have happened as well as the things that should have happened - and makes them all work together for our good. In this way we can live without regret about the past or the present, or without fear of the future, because as Paul says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Thanksgiving is not a denial of problems. On the contrary it gives us the power to do something about them, and to pro-act. As we do this we begin to embrace and experience God’s redemptive ability to bring good out of evil and to make all things work together for our good. By thanksgiving we overcome victoriously rather than descend into despair.
Corrie ten Boom, the famous Christian holocaust survivor, recalled how in their horrible camp the situation became even worse when an infestation of lice broke out. When Corrie began to murmur, her sister Betsy (who did not survive the camp) corrected Corrie and told her that she must thank God for the lice and not complain! They began to thank God for the lice that in some way God would use them for their good. Betsy and Corrie conducted Bible studies for their fellow prisoners and because of the lice the prison guards did not inspect their area. They were left to conduct their Bible studies with freedom – all because of the lice!
Thanksgiving keeps us filled with the Spirit
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” (Ephesians 5: 17-20)
As we cultivate this habit of rejoicing in the Lord and thanking God the Father through Jesus, we cause the life of the Spirit to bubble up within us.
Often believers, who are filled and baptized with the Holy Spirit, become flat in their faith and the vibrancy of their relationship with God begins to wane. The habit of thanksgiving is the antidote to this. Our emotions sometimes pick up the heaviness of the world around us and this can quench the life of the Spirit in us. As we remind ourselves of the Lord’s presence, faithfulness and goodness, we can stir ourselves up, overcome the spirit of the world around us and be restored to the joy of the Lord.
David says “restore to me the joy of my salvation and renew a right spirit in me.” (Psalm 51:10) Thanksgiving restores the Spirit’s life, presence and fruit to our lives and is the great key to the enjoyment of everything. “I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:17) It often takes an effort of will to begin to give thanks. This is one of the reasons it is called ‘the sacrifice of thanksgiving’ but as we offer this sacrifice our joy will be restored and our spirit re-ignited.
Thanksgiving Sanctifies Everything
“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5)
Thanksgiving sanctifies everything. It brightens everything up with God‘s presence. Complaining and murmuring on the other hand sucks the life and joy out of everything. The supernaturally empowered believer makes his life a complaint-free zone.
Everything that we can thank God for becomes holy and blessed and radiant with the life of His kingdom. People often think that if something is religious it must be holy; and for something to be holy it must be religious. The most down to earth activity is holy if it is done with an attitude of thanksgiving towards God, and the most exalted religious activity is unholy if done in the wrong attitude.
It is not the religiosity of an activity but the attitude of thanksgiving towards God that makes it holy. The ordinary activities of daily life do not have to pull us away from God’s kingdom but through thanksgiving they can become charged with the presence of God.
Chapter 2: THE HABIT OF PRAYER
CHAPTER II
THE HABIT OF PRAYER
Prayer is a unique
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